Two teenage boys have been killed and a 12-year-old girl wounded as the brutal war over territory in Cape Town escalates.
|||Cape Town - Two teenage boys have been killed and a 12-year-old girl wounded as the brutal war over territory between the Hard Livings and the Americans gangs in Manenberg escalates.
An 18-year-old boy was shot and killed on Friday night in Renoster Road - home to both Hard Livings and Americans - police have confirmed.
Police spokesman FC van Wyk said it was alleged that the teenager had been shot by a gunman in a passing minibus taxi.
“He was standing on the corner of Renoster Road and Manenberg Avenue talking to a friend. A taxi drove slowly by and a suspect was on the tail bar of the moving taxi firing random shots which killed him,” said Van Wyk.
He said no arrests had been made. Police were investigating a case of murder.
Last Tuesday, a 16-year-old boy was shot dead and the following day a 12-year-old girl was wounded after being caught in gang cross-fire.
Both shootings occurred in Renoster Road.
Manenberg Community Police Forum spokesman Kader Jacobs said the biggest reason for the gang fights was the anticipated return of Hard Livings leader Rashied Staggie who was due to be released on parole in September.
“There’s inter-gang rivalry in terms of positions in the Hard Livings gang with Staggie’s return. There is going to be a restructuring of organisations, so some members will be unranked.
“On the other side, the Americans are trying to reduce the Hard Livings’ power in the area and win the turf before Staggie arrives,” Jacobs said.
On Sunday, the Cape Argus visited the area minutes after another sporadic gang shooting in Red River Walk.
Residents stood on their balconies, there were no children playing in the streets, but groups of boys - who belong to the gangs - were seen at almost every corner, dressed in oversized tracksuits with hands tucked underneath their pants.
Police also patrolled the area in private vehicles and some of them on streets carried semi-automatic rifles.
Arnold Futen, who lives in Renoster Road, said he feared for his life.
“It’s hard for me to even go to work because I don’t know what will happen if I go out. We are prisoners in our own houses,” he said.
“On Friday, I was going to buy koeksisters at the shop that’s just a few houses away. As I was walking they started shooting and I had to run back home.”
Futen told how these gang fights were affecting his children, who are 2 and 5 years old.
“I was in Vangate shopping with them and some boy burst a balloon. My kids ran frantically and started crying, thinking it was a gunshot. I had to explain to the people that no, we are from Manenberg,” he said.
In the last month, according to Jacobs, five deaths have been reported. However, the police could not confirm the number.
Cadet News Agency
Cape Argus
